Chateau Les Traverses 2006

As a Cape Wine Master and the wine selector for the major South African retailer, Woolworths, he is able to offer a range of wines across all pricing points, from the easy-drinking to the complex and sophisticated special wines. Apart from the local wines available, Allan has procured international wines like Barolo classic Piedmont reds,  Lambrusco Rosso Perle Wine,  and Vignavecchia Chianti Classico from Tuscany,  Cotes Du Rhone Red Wine, several from Bordeaux and wines from Portugal and Spain.

We were thrilled to pick up Chateau Les Traverses 2006 from the Medoc, Bordeaux for the extraordinary price of only R100.00 ($13) Most of the international wines in the range cost less than R100.00.

On the nose this wine did not make me think that it is old world in style at all and reminded me of some of the premium South African wines that we enjoy. Is this an indication of the high standard of  Cape Town wines? There are leather and blackberry notes. On the palate the wine is dry to begin with but tastes of ripe plum after a bit. We found it be elegant and smooth.

If you are a lover of French wine but only have a South African budget, bust the bank and stock up while you can.

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Paul Cluver Pinot Noir 2008 & Backsberg Pinotage 2008

In my opinion it pairs beautifully with roast, free-range chicken so that’s what we ate for dinner. This wine is smooth, balanced and medium-bodied. The lovely strawberry flavours give an illusion of sweetness yet it is quite dry and there is a long, dry aftertaste of clove and sour cherry.

What struck me when I nosed the wine, picking up on the sweet cherry and smokiness, is the similarity to Pinotage which is the result of  a crossing of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut to produce this hybrid grape. Since we had a Backsberg Pinotage 2008 on hand, we decided that it would be fun to have a comparison between the two.

Besides the common aromas,  the wines share great structure and harmony although the Pinotage is more robust, and married well with barbecued, ostrich steak. It is also higher in alcohol – 14.5% compared to 13.5% in the Pinot Noir. The finish is dry with intense woodiness and that bitterness is there which I always notice when quaffing Pinotage.

Both of these wines come highly recommended. At R51.00 ($6.5) the Backsberg Pinotage 2008 is a great find. Woolworths Reserve Paul Cluver Wines Pinot Noir 2008 sells for R150.00 ($19)

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La Capra presented by Fairview

We decided to try the La Capra Shiraz 2008 and very easily laid the bottle waste. There is are spice flavours galore on the palate like white pepper, clove and nutmeg, and the fruity yet dry flavours remind of eating pomegranates when I was a child. We think this wine goes very well with itself but it was also great with our sirloin and ostrich sausage braai. It’s beautifully balanced and sits on the palate forever after swallowing.

If I wanted to introduce a first time drinker to a Shiraz varietal wine, La Capra Shiraz is what I would reach for.

The quirky label reminds us that Fairview is home to goat herds and produces award winning cheeses.

These wines are available at the unbelievable price of R200.00 ($28.50) per mixed case from the farm.

La Capra Shiraz

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Vergelegen Merlot 2006

This is a lush, full-bodied wine with a little bit of spice on the palate and lots of ripe, red fruit flavours. It is smooth as silk and satisfying in every way. We are happy to drink it on it’s own but love to pair it with a rich meat stew like cottage pie. This is very much a comfort drink.

At R135.91 ($19) per bottle it is more an occasional wine rather than a daily tipple.

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Zorgvliet Silver Myn Merlot Cabernet Franc 2006

Quaffing this wine as we watched the clouds change colour over the Constantiaberg Mountains we were immediately impressed with the smooth elegance and balance. For me the main flavours were a little spice, sour cherry and mulberry. It is hard to believe that this is a second tier wine of this premium Cape Town producer.

Named Silver Myn because of historical mining that took place in the Banghoek area of Stellenbosch, Zorgvliet aims with this range to pair usual cultivars with unusual ones in high quality blends. Sauvignon Blanc with Viognier and Cabernet Sauvignon with Malbec are two more examples.

At R49.60 ($7) a bottle, this is astonishing good value for money.

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The Wolftrap 2008

All of the wines in the flagship range rank between 4 and 5 stars out of 5 in Platter’s South African Wines 2010.

From one of the second-tier ranges from this champion producer comes The Wolftrap 2008, a blend of Shiraz, Mouvedre and Viognier with a touch of oak. This wine is delicious and affordable for every day quaffing selling for less then $8 a bottle. We paired it with rare, roast beef and mustard and I was amazed at how the wine exploded on my palate.

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Western Leopard Toad visiting our garden

Seriously though, Splattered Toad Sauvignon blanc 2009 from Cape Point Vineyards is a favourite quay-side, refreshing aperitif. There are notes of asparagus, lemon and yellow apple and the palate is austere yet approachable with a long, finish of lime.

Named for the beautiful Western Leopard Toad which is endemic to South Africa but threatened by loss of habitat and urban encroachment, they are regular visitors to our garden.  Cape Point Vineyards is donating R1.00 for every bottle of Splattered Toad sold to the Cape Point Vineyards sustainability fund to help protect these amphibians.

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Wet Rocks Sauvignon Blanc 2009

Notes of granadilla, peach and pineapple tantalize and on the palate, the perky lime refreshes.

For sultry, summer Cape Town nights this is a lovely thirst quencher.

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Perfectly cooked sirloin steak

Partners in this venture are Tyrell Myburgh, Charles Back and Jose Conde and this is how they explain their purpose:

This MAN thing began with three friends and an idea: To make a wine that we ourselves would love to buy. Good quality, good value. Not exactly an epithany, but enough to motivate us into action. What do we name it? Keeping peace in the family we took the first initials of our wives. (We each have one wife, that is.) So that’s how we explained to Marie, Anette and Vicky that we were going to be “busy” most weekends. “It’s for you!” we told them.

Of course, we coulda just slapped another cute furry animal on the label, but thats been done. It’s time to focus again on what’s in the bottle. This is the opposite of a critter wine, this is a wine to drink with critters. Not too serious, but serious enough

MAN Vintners cab seems to have the unusual problem of high evaporation – the bottle was empty in no time, so easily did it glide down.

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Rust en Vrede Merlot 2008

As a festive season splurge we opened the merlot to experience a complex nose of dark fruit with a touch of spice. This full-bodied wine has great structure but with subtle oak, ripe plum and and long finish.

We love the quotations by Thomas Jefferson on the back label.

Rust en Vrede Merlot 2008 sells for R130.00 ($18) from the farm.

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Groote Post Vineyards sauvignon blanc 2008

Sauvignon blanc can never be a great South African variety except for when it is blended with semillon, Bordeaux style. Local varietal wines vary from ripe fruit, easy drinking wines to more austere, flinty styles with green apple and lime on the palate, often made from grapes at high altitude and close to maritime winds.

Groote Post sauvignon blanc falls into the latter category. It’s well balanced and great as an aperitif because of the palate cleansing lime flavour. Selling from the farm at around R62.00 which is rather more than we would spend on an everyday wine, it is well worth the splurge.

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David Frost Signature Series Shiraz 2008

It’s full bodied and typical of shiraz  with the white pepper on a long finish, except that in this wine there is more up-front fruit . Interestingly enough the wine is unwooded and yet paired beautifully with our barbecued lamb chops.

David Frost Estate in Paarl also serves as the visitors’ center for the Voor Paardeberg wine ward.

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Ok I’ll tell you – What? is a Woolworths varietal wine brand and we tried the sauvignon blanc. The label on the back of the bottle clears up some of the mystery by informing us that this sauvignon blanc is in fact a wine produced by Bergsig Estate.   

What? sauvignon blanc

We paired it with pan-fried angel fish and a splash of lemon with baby potatoes and steamed vegetables on the side. Couldn’t imagine another matching wine for the menu with it’s crispy, grass and gooseberry notes on the nose and juicy pineapple, green pepper and lime on the palate.

Pretty typical, we think of a well crafted sauvignon blanc.

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Delheim Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2007

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Buitenverwachting Meifort 2006

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Schalk Burger & Sons Meerkat Burrow 2007

Schalk Burger & Sons Meerkat Burrow Blend 2007 gives off notes of prune and spice suggesting a measure of shiraz in the equation. The palate confirms this but slowly the dry ripe cabernet sauvignon finish follows. A medium-bodied, accessible wine which is a steal at only R39.99 from Pick & Pay, it could arguably be the most underrated wine the Platter Guide 2009 earning only 1.5 stars. Have the Masters of Wine drunk so many bold, complex, knock you over wines that they have forgotten to appreciate everyday, affordable, quality when it is right before them?

Burrow in and let us know what you think.

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Steenberg Catharina 2006

Steenberg Catharina 2006, named for Catharina Ras, founder of Steenberg farm, blended from cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, shiraz with some nebbiolo, sails down the throat like a catamaran in full flight. All about this wine is perfectly harmonious, finishing seamlessly with reminders of white pepper, mulberry and pomegranate.

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Dispore Kamma

As luck would have it, a second chance came our way in the Hermanus wine emporium where we found the cabernet sauvignon 2006.

Presenting with a pleasing, characteristic cabernet sauvignon nose, the experience on the palate disappointed with sharp acids. Not a bad thing necessarily, going along with prominent tannins which will improve the wine with bottle age. The lush plum and sour cherry flavours will be more appreciated when this wine is say, six years old.

If only we had come away with a case to lay down which at R15.00 per bottle is a steal.

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This wine has wonderfully integrated tannins and leaves the connoisseur anticipating the next marvellous sip. When you next have R200.00 floating about, forget the stock market – it’s in the doldrums – and rather elevate your spirit and taste buds to this new level of elegance.

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Who would think that the illustrious, premium winery Glen Carlou could bring out such an affordable daily tipple? At only R33 from Pick and Pay, this chocolate, spicy nosed shiraz-based blend goes down a treat, with supportive tannins, nice mulberry and white pepper on a long, smooth finish.

A medium bodied blend, Tortoise Hill Red will not hit you like an express train and is yummy with meat dishes or as an aperitif.

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